Fairmount Properties; DiGeronimo Companies

CallisonRTKL

The Village Green was visualized as a multi-purpose gathering place for curated events, as well as a variety of casual uses. Intended to function as the heart of the development, the Village Green has succeeded in bringing people to Pinecrest to live, shop, dine and work, but most importantly to linger and spend time with family and friends.

The Village Green hosts hundreds of events each year, many of which are free to attend and support local nonprofit initiatives. A 24x42 ft LED screen was installed in Pinecrest’s Central Park to help promote Village events along with the Cleveland area’s range of activities. From outdoor fitness classes, movie nights, concerts, festivals, farmers markets, maker’s markets and more, the property makes a significant investment to ensure a welcoming, family-friendly and very community-centric environment.

Village Green was carefully planned with pedestrian ease of access for people of all abilities. With a variety of walking surfaces from pavers to grass, the Village Green offers numerous opportunities to pause, enjoy the scenery, post a picture of you and your dog on Instagram, or chat with a friend. Additionally, a glass elevator connecting Pinecrest’s multiple levels offer accessible wheelchair, stroller, and elderly use directly next to the magnificent Grand Stair.

The Village Green features a grass lawn that is available for large events such as movie nights and yoga classes, as well as for more informal outings such as sports equipment demos and casual lounging. The area is wired for electricity and sound at several points around the Green, making it very easy to program events that a range of visitors will enjoy. It’s not every place where you can set up a stage, plug in holiday displays, operate an ice-skating rink and construct a beer garden!

The Village Green’s programming is very generation-, gender- and socially inclusive. Events and activities in the past year have ranged in scale, from a July 4th fireworks extravaganza and a must-be-experienced Dog Olympics to weekly Farmer’s Markets and outdoor movies on warm summer nights. When not programmed with an event, visitors can play a variety of lawn games or just relax in stylish Village Green-provided lounging chairs.

Pinecrest became the downtown for a community previously devoid of all commercial uses and public gathering spaces. Since opening, Pinecrest has hosted 200+ events (including setting a world record for “Most Dogs in a Single Photo”!). The large LED screen is the only one in the region and provides a unique place for the owner to promote its tenants, its events and community announcements. Further, 68 percent of tenants at the project are new-to-market, including high-end “clicks to bricks” brands such as Warby Parker, Peloton and Indochino.

The Village Green is connected to the rest of Pinecrest, through clear and intriguing sightlines, generous sidewalks and the monumental stairs that offer a place to pause and people watch.
The space had been originally intended as a single-used open space amenity. That single use space has organically evolved into a multi-purpose community gathering space serving several types of events.

The project provides significant tax revenue, including sales tax, payroll tax and hotel tax, to the Village, the County and the school district. The Village Green is an important component to the overall success of the project. Initial project financing included a combination of public and private debt along with developer equity. Public debt was provided in the form of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) through a partnership with the Village of Orange and the Orange School District. The TIF bonds were issued by the Cuyahoga County Port Authority. The amount of the TIF is $42.8MM. The TIF paid for the public improvements installed at the project. In addition, a special assessment was placed on the property which provides funding for the construction of a bike/hike trail that connects Pinecrest to the rest of the Village. All operations and maintenance costs, as well as the costs for hosting events in the Village Green, are paid for by the property owner.

The costs for on-going operations and maintenance of the Village Green is built into the owner’s operating budget, a significant portion of which is reimbursed by the tenants at the property. Near the Village Green, the developer preserved two pad sites for future development. One site, approximately 8,000-sf, is in the final stages of negotiation with two retail tenants. The second site was projected to be either an additional hotel or a site for a second multifamily building of approximately 100 units. That site is now in the final stages of negotiation with the operator of the Pinecrest Marriott AC for a second hotel brand.

Pinecrest has become the “downtown” for Cleveland’s East Side suburban communities. The street-facing retail with residential, office and hospitality uses offer a unique setting for greater Cleveland’s residents to dine, shop and be entertained in a beautiful outdoor district. The centerpiece of this project is the Village Green, which provides a large open space where residents and visitors gather during the spring, summer and fall to meet up with friends and family. In the winter, the Village Green puts on a spectacular holiday light show and display, as well as operates a skating rink. The Village Green is also used year-round to host local and charitable events such as car shows, wine tastings, concerts and movies. The Village Green is connected to the rest of Orange Village by a five-mile bike and hike trail, the construction of which was funded by the property.

Pinecrest is connected to Orange Village’s existing walking and bike path. It is also served by the local bus transit service, as well as ride share services.

Pinecrest included the development of a new commercial district in Orange Village to benefit the region, the Village and its residents, as well as Cuyahoga County and the Orange Schools by creating jobs, enlarging the tax base, enhancing income tax revenues and stimulating collateral development in the Village. Once the project reaches full occupancy, it is estimated to generate an average annual income tax revenue of approximately $1.5 million. Orange Village shares a portion of the income tax revenue with Orange Schools. Pinecrest is already embraced by a wide spectrum of age groups, genders and ethnicities.

CallisonRTKL along with its’ consultant team, led in-person design workshops and met with development and construction decision makers. As a joint venture development, the client’s team included Leasing, Marketing, Finance, Design and Construction stakeholders.
Additionally, the team met with the Mayor and the members of City Council to gather a wish list of urban design features to be included into a more formal Final Development Plan (FDP). These presentations were made to the Orange Village Planning and Zoning Committee where public commentary was encouraged. Through engagement with both private and public stakeholders, the design team received timely, comprehensive approvals.

The Village Green provides people with a place to gather and to participate in a larger community. The property owner regularly hosts yoga classes and other opportunities for residents to exercise. The Village Green is also the starting and ending location for an annual charitable 5k race and is connected to the remainder of the Village via a five-mile bike/hike trail.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Pinecrest is a new mixed-use district that is grounded in classic planning principles. Critical to the success of Pinecrest is the recognition that the many and varied uses within the site must engage the pedestrian experience and reinforce the idea that this is a place to be enjoyed on foot. Office, residential, hospitality and entertainment functions all activate the streetscape. Elevated roof terraces, balconies, and landscaped stairs and seating areas contribute energy to the sidewalk and public spaces below. The Village Green anchors one end of the street and is programmed with both public and private activity all year around. Its beautiful, walkable design answers a desire for urbanism in suburban environments and creates unexpected “Instagrammable” moments with relaxing restaurant patios, lush landscapes and ever-popular events.